Careers

As a Key Account & Business Development Manager Maritime, you act as a strategic partner for customers within the Maritime segment. You build and nurture long-term customer relationships, drive value creation, and represent the voice of the customer internally to continuously enhance service delivery and solutions.

You are responsible for further developing the Maritime segment by defining and executing the Maritime strategy. This includes expanding the customer base through the acquisition of new key accounts, strengthening existing relationships, and evolving the offering to ensure sustainable, profitable growth with attractive margins

Key Activities and Responsibilities

- Act as the single point of contact for key maritime accounts and develop additional strategic accounts.

- Identify and realize value-growth opportunities through account expansion, new partnerships, and solution-driven selling.

- Define and execute account strategies aligned with customer objectives and Bekaert’s growth ambitions.

- Lead price negotiations, contract renewals, and commercial discussions with a focus on long-term value creation.

- Drive product and solution development in close collaboration with Segment Lead, Production, and R&D.

- Ensure strong pipeline management, accurate forecasting, and achievement of sales targets.

- Monitor account receivables and ensure timely payments in coordination with Finance.

- Represent the voice of the customer internally and collaborate cross-functionally to deliver superior service.

- Travel up to 50% to maintain strong stakeholder relationships.

About You

Essential skills & competencies

- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in business, Engineering, or related field.

- 5–7 years’ experience in key account management, sales, or business development, preferably in maritime or manufacturing environments.

- Strong affinity with industrial and manufacturing processes.

- Proficiency in Microsoft Office; experience with SAP and Power BI is a plus.

- Value-based selling approach, Entrepreneurial and proactive attitude

- Ability to define and execute business development strategies.

- Fluent in Dutch, French and English, written and spoken

What is in it for you?

- Competitive salary.

- Learning programs developed by our L&D department.

- A great opportunity to play your part in an international growth story.

- A chance to grow along with your responsibilities (national or international).

The Commercial Director is responsible for driving order intake, revenue growth, and customer satisfaction across the business while ensuring strong execution of sales strategies. This role combines strategic leadership with hands-on commercial engagement, overseeing global sales operations and fostering high-performing teams to achieve ambitious business objectives in dynamic markets such as offshore energy, maritime, and industrial B2B sectors.

Key Activities and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

·       Develop and implement global and regional commercial and sales strategies aligned with overall business objectives.

·       Identify growth opportunities in evolving and emerging markets and define clear, differentiated value propositions per segment.

·       Translate strategy into actionable plans with clear targets for revenue, margin, and customer satisfaction.

Team Leadership & Development

·       Lead, coach, and develop Regional Sales Managers and Segment Leaders, ensuring strong alignment between regional and segment strategies.

·       Set clear performance expectations and foster a culture of accountability and high performance.

·       Inspire collaboration, ownership, and continuous improvement across the global sales organization.

Customer & Market Engagement

·       Build and maintain senior-level relationships with key customers, distributors, and strategic partners.

·       Actively participate in key account management, including executive meetings and complex commercial negotiations.

·       Conduct ongoing market and competitor analysis to identify trends, risks, and opportunities.

Sales Operations & Performance Management

·       Own global sales forecasting, budgeting, and performance reporting.

·       Monitor and analyze KPIs, dashboards, and sales metrics; define and implement corrective actions where required.

·       Ensure full compliance with company policies, governance standards, and relevant industry regulations.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

·       Work closely with marketing, product development, operations, and finance to ensure full alignment of commercial and business strategies.

·       Facilitate cross-region and cross-segment sharing of best practices, customer insights, and market intelligence.

Training & Capability Building

·       Define and drive training and development initiatives to continuously strengthen sales capabilities, leadership skills, and market knowledge.

About you

Essential skills & competencies

- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in business, Engineering, or related field.

- Minimum 10+ years in commercial leadership roles, preferably in industrial or technical B2B markets.

- Demonstrated leadership and people management skills, with the ability to lead, motivate, and develop high-performing, diverse teams.

- Strong commercial acumen with a proven ability to drive business growth in complex B2B environments, preferably within industrial or technical markets.

- Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, with experience engaging senior internal and external stakeholders.

- High proficiency in CRM systems, sales analytics, and data-driven decision-making to support strategic and operational objectives.

- Strong project management and organizational capabilities, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

- Proven track record of delivering sustainable growth through effective strategy execution and team leadership.

- Fluency in English is required; additional languages are considered an advantage.

- Willingness and ability to travel internationally up to 40% of the time.

- Experience in offshore energy or related markets is considered a strong advantage.

What is in it for you?

- Competitive salary.

- Learning programs developed by our L&D department.

- A great opportunity to play your part in an international growth story.

- A chance to grow along with your responsibilities (national or international).

- Cool colleagues all over the world.